eBay offers want payment up-front

FFHillbilly

messia07 said:

thanks for the heads up. i will not be making offers if i have to pay up front.

well unfortunately you won't be able to make offers on eBay soon then

prowla

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

Spoonie_Turtle

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

Understandable.  It would be sensible if for collection-only items the funds are only released to the seller once the collection QR code is scanned.

soolin

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

The reality is though that the amount of people regularly spending £1000 on items that are commonly not as described so need inspection before paying must be so small as to be almost incalculable. The vast majority , in fact I suspect almost 100% of offers are made on quite ordinary things that will be posted out so leave buyers reliant on an SNAD claim if it is not as described, so paying immediately or next day is not likely to impact them at all. 

Sellers have been frustrated for years about buyers who can seemingly offer or accept an offer then just never bother paying, it takes our items off the market for 4 days and can cost us to relist , or lose us our FVFs offers depending on whether sale was on a business or private account. I have posted on my own thread, and many others saying that the idea that someone can make an offer or accept an offer and just not pay puts sellers off of using offers full stop.

By making everything paid at point of sale it might encourage more sellers to look at accepting or making offers without risking losing potentially 4 days worth of visibility, and more offers mean more buyers perhaps paying less than listed price.

Having had a very high percentage of non payers on offers I can only support a process where buyers can no longer auction wreck like this.

tightauldgit

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

And if i agree to send you my phone number and address for £1000 item then Ebay charge me £150 quid in fees and you don't bother turning up and/or don't like it for some spurious reason or want to try to rehaggle  the price I'm out of pocket for the fees. So yeah I'm not going to be doing that. 

On the other hand the buyer if they dont like the item can simply walk away and file a refund request with ebay and get it - no question of trying to have to have a discussion or argument or ask for them to do you a favour. 

And this isn't even a new thing Ebay are doing - it's been this way for sometime that you are expected to pay before exchanging contact details. 

tightauldgit

Spoonie_Turtle said:

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

Understandable.  It would be sensible if for collection-only items the funds are only released to the seller once the collection QR code is scanned.

Provided the buyer is going to come and collect it quickly I'd be OK with that but I recently had a £700 item waiting for over a week for collection. It was more reassuring to have that money in my account than to have no idea what was going on with the buyer and be waiting to get paid. 

In my experience the vast majority of collections go down without a hitch provided the buyer actually turns up so if its a choice between one or the other it probably makes sense to err on the side of the seller. 

Spoonie_Turtle

tightauldgit said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

Understandable.  It would be sensible if for collection-only items the funds are only released to the seller once the collection QR code is scanned.

Provided the buyer is going to come and collect it quickly I'd be OK with that but I recently had a £700 item waiting for over a week for collection. It was more reassuring to have that money in my account than to have no idea what was going on with the buyer and be waiting to get paid. 

In my experience the vast majority of collections go down without a hitch provided the buyer actually turns up so if its a choice between one or the other it probably makes sense to err on the side of the seller. 

Yes, it should automatically cancel if not collected after X amount of time (unless the seller chooses to override it).

prowla

soolin said:

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

The reality is though that the amount of people regularly spending £1000 on items that are commonly not as described so need inspection before paying must be so small as to be almost incalculable. The vast majority , in fact I suspect almost 100% of offers are made on quite ordinary things that will be posted out so leave buyers reliant on an SNAD claim if it is not as described, so paying immediately or next day is not likely to impact them at all. 

Sellers have been frustrated for years about buyers who can seemingly offer or accept an offer then just never bother paying, it takes our items off the market for 4 days and can cost us to relist , or lose us our FVFs offers depending on whether sale was on a business or private account. I have posted on my own thread, and many others saying that the idea that someone can make an offer or accept an offer and just not pay puts sellers off of using offers full stop.

By making everything paid at point of sale it might encourage more sellers to look at accepting or making offers without risking losing potentially 4 days worth of visibility, and more offers mean more buyers perhaps paying less than listed price.

Having had a very high percentage of non payers on offers I can only support a process where buyers can no longer auction wreck like this.

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

And if i agree to send you my phone number and address for £1000 item then Ebay charge me £150 quid in fees and you don't bother turning up and/or don't like it for some spurious reason or want to try to rehaggle  the price I'm out of pocket for the fees. So yeah I'm not going to be doing that. 

On the other hand the buyer if they dont like the item can simply walk away and file a refund request with ebay and get it - no question of trying to have to have a discussion or argument or ask for them to do you a favour. 

And this isn't even a new thing Ebay are doing - it's been this way for sometime that you are expected to pay before exchanging contact details. 

Well there y'go - there are two sides to an argument.

In my case, there may be issues the seller isn't aware of, doesn't understand, or is just plain trying it on; there are many examples of items for sale which are questionable.

I have been to collect something only to get there and find the item was a replica worth about 1/10th of the price, so it does happen.

Plus, of course, there's the matter of shipping: a. it costs and b. there is a risk of damage or loss, c. it may be less convenient than collecting.

So, whilst I respect your issues with selling, the changes make it less attractive for me to buy used items on eBay.

soolin

prowla said:

soolin said:

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

The reality is though that the amount of people regularly spending £1000 on items that are commonly not as described so need inspection before paying must be so small as to be almost incalculable. The vast majority , in fact I suspect almost 100% of offers are made on quite ordinary things that will be posted out so leave buyers reliant on an SNAD claim if it is not as described, so paying immediately or next day is not likely to impact them at all. 

Sellers have been frustrated for years about buyers who can seemingly offer or accept an offer then just never bother paying, it takes our items off the market for 4 days and can cost us to relist , or lose us our FVFs offers depending on whether sale was on a business or private account. I have posted on my own thread, and many others saying that the idea that someone can make an offer or accept an offer and just not pay puts sellers off of using offers full stop.

By making everything paid at point of sale it might encourage more sellers to look at accepting or making offers without risking losing potentially 4 days worth of visibility, and more offers mean more buyers perhaps paying less than listed price.

Having had a very high percentage of non payers on offers I can only support a process where buyers can no longer auction wreck like this.

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

And if i agree to send you my phone number and address for £1000 item then Ebay charge me £150 quid in fees and you don't bother turning up and/or don't like it for some spurious reason or want to try to rehaggle  the price I'm out of pocket for the fees. So yeah I'm not going to be doing that. 

On the other hand the buyer if they dont like the item can simply walk away and file a refund request with ebay and get it - no question of trying to have to have a discussion or argument or ask for them to do you a favour. 

And this isn't even a new thing Ebay are doing - it's been this way for sometime that you are expected to pay before exchanging contact details. 

Well there y'go - there are two sides to an argument.

In my case, there may be issues the seller isn't aware of, doesn't understand, or is just plain trying it on; there are many examples of items for sale which are questionable.

I have been to collect something only to get there and find the item was a replica worth about 1/10th of the price, so it does happen.

Plus, of course, there's the matter of shipping: a. it costs and b. there is a risk of damage or loss, c. it may be less convenient than collecting.

So, whilst I respect your issues with selling, the changes make it less attractive for me to buy used items on eBay.

I think it will be interesting to see how this all pans out over time. Will the trial, if it is a trial, be extended or will there be work arounds or opt outs I wonder?  Might they even not apply it to items that are correctly listed as collection only? In the US it certainly doesn't seem to be 100% in force as some buyers are still saying they have made offers with no requirement to have a card registered up front. 

I want to see it for myself to see if it works on all offers- but now of course can't find a single thing I want to offer on

tightauldgit

prowla said:

soolin said:

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

The reality is though that the amount of people regularly spending £1000 on items that are commonly not as described so need inspection before paying must be so small as to be almost incalculable. The vast majority , in fact I suspect almost 100% of offers are made on quite ordinary things that will be posted out so leave buyers reliant on an SNAD claim if it is not as described, so paying immediately or next day is not likely to impact them at all. 

Sellers have been frustrated for years about buyers who can seemingly offer or accept an offer then just never bother paying, it takes our items off the market for 4 days and can cost us to relist , or lose us our FVFs offers depending on whether sale was on a business or private account. I have posted on my own thread, and many others saying that the idea that someone can make an offer or accept an offer and just not pay puts sellers off of using offers full stop.

By making everything paid at point of sale it might encourage more sellers to look at accepting or making offers without risking losing potentially 4 days worth of visibility, and more offers mean more buyers perhaps paying less than listed price.

Having had a very high percentage of non payers on offers I can only support a process where buyers can no longer auction wreck like this.

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

tightauldgit said:

prowla said:

soolin said:

Oooh, I wonder if the pay immediately trial has spread to the UK?  The US sellers have been excited about a trial where buyers making offers have to pay immediately if they are accepted and I admit I was quite excited as well as I’m fed up with time wasters. 

I can understand the frustration as a buyer if you want to check an item if you are collecting, but it must be such a minuscule of people who are planning to collect but who might not buy that I honestly can’t see it is going to be a major problem. 

Debbie9009 said:

Having had quite a few time wasters making offers and then not paying, I love the idea of them paying immediately, sorry OP.

tightauldgit said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

I wouldn't think it would be very common - an offer is (or should be) binding so if it's accepted you have an obligation to pay either way. There's no real reason I can think of not to pay immediately unless A. You weren't a serious bidder in the first place or B. You have an objection to giving Ebay your payment details and only use cash for everything

I suspect B is pretty tiny proportion of the Ebay user base.

As a seller it'll be great if Ebay are tightening up on timewasters sending offers and then disappearing. 

moonpenny said:

Qwertybaz said:

This happened to me as well. I was making an offer on an item I was interested in and was prompted for payment details. I also backed out of the purchase. The item then failed to sell so I wonder how many times this is happening 

Why would you even make an offer if you are unable to pay for it?

I will typically look to collect the more expensive items for cash and i would need to inspect it first.

I'm not comfortable with the "I'll make you an offer and hand over the money and you can decide whether to accept it" approach.

I can appreciate that sellers may see it as a plus, but it's not if it puts off potential buyers.

I've got someone I consider a PITA to be trying this with me now - it shouldn't even be possible to do anymore as I am pointing out to them. In order to exchange details to arrange a collection you have to have paid for it first otherwise the seller gets hit with fees even if the buyer doesn't buy. 

The correct way to do it is to pay and then arrange to collect. If the item isn't right when you check it then you get a refund. 

Ebay is not Gumtree. 

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

I don’t know how the Uk system will work but we usually follow the US lead, In the US payment is only taken once offer is accepted, so there is no worry about funds being taken and held. I really don’t think that is unreasonable at all, you make an offer, it is accepted and you pay and only when payment is taken is item sold. this is exactly how it works on Vinted.

Why wouldn’t a buyer expect to pay if their offer was accepted? 

I suspect there are a lot of people who treat Ebay like Gumtree and think an offer means 'I'll give you 50 quid for it if I look at it and like it' rather than 'i will buy this for 50 pounds here's my money if you accept the offer'

As I said people seem to think you can arrange collection/inspection before paying. 

Well, you may want things to be that way as a seller, but as a frequent buyer of used kit I will never pay up-front if collecting; there are so many things which may only show up when hands-on.

If I'm paying £1000 for an item, I'm going to make darned sure it's all in order before handing over my readies.

The idea that I would pay, go to the seller's, see it's not right, have a discussion/argument about the issues, and then ask them if they wouldn't mind refunding me please is just plain daft.

Whatever the opinions are; the net effect is I'll be less likely to buy on eBay, so the sellers lose a potential buyer.

It's eBay who are changing how it's been for many years and this is a new departure.

And if i agree to send you my phone number and address for £1000 item then Ebay charge me £150 quid in fees and you don't bother turning up and/or don't like it for some spurious reason or want to try to rehaggle  the price I'm out of pocket for the fees. So yeah I'm not going to be doing that. 

On the other hand the buyer if they dont like the item can simply walk away and file a refund request with ebay and get it - no question of trying to have to have a discussion or argument or ask for them to do you a favour. 

And this isn't even a new thing Ebay are doing - it's been this way for sometime that you are expected to pay before exchanging contact details. 

Well there y'go - there are two sides to an argument.

In my case, there may be issues the seller isn't aware of, doesn't understand, or is just plain trying it on; there are many examples of items for sale which are questionable.

I have been to collect something only to get there and find the item was a replica worth about 1/10th of the price, so it does happen.

Plus, of course, there's the matter of shipping: a. it costs and b. there is a risk of damage or loss, c. it may be less convenient than collecting.

So, whilst I respect your issues with selling, the changes make it less attractive for me to buy used items on eBay.

The thing is there is absolutely no issue with collecting for the buyer other than the wasted time if its not right - if you change you mind you dont take the item and get a refund from Ebay.